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Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan has advised Abhishek Sharma to make a few changes to his batting approach before the 2026 T20 World Cup. Abhishek, who is currently the No.1 ranked T20I batter in the world, is known to step out from his crease and smash bowlers around the stadium. However, Pathan feels that the opposing teams will f i nd a way to counter Abhishek's batting in the T20 World Cup and thus, asked him to pick and choose the bowlers that he would go after.
"Abhishek won the Man of the Series, but when you look closely, teams come prepared in the World Cup. If Abhishek continues to step out, then teams will begin to work him out. He should pick and choose. You can't step out every bowler on the first ball of every innings. There should be a rationale behind an aggressive approach," Pathan said on his YouTube channel.
Pathan further pointed out how Abhishek found it quite difficult to counter Nathan Ellis during the fifth T20I against Australia as the latter used variations effectively during the powerplay. Though the left-hand batter did remain unbeaten on 23 runs from 13 deliveries during the final T20I of the series in Brisbane, he didn't look quite comfortable on the crease in comparison to his partner Shubman Gill, who scored 29 runs from 16 deliveries before the match got abandoned due to rain.
"Abhishek struggled against Nathan Ellis. Teams will now use a bowler with a lot of variations in the powerplay. I am sure team management will be focusing on this. Even Yuvraj Singh will be focusing on it," Pathan added.
Abhishek's performance vs Australia
Meanwhile, Abhishek proved to be one of the top performers for India during the five-match T20I series against Australia. He finished as the side's top run-getter with 163 runs from five innings. His best knock came in the second T20I where he played a fabulous inning of 68 on a difficult Melbourne track where majority of the batters struggled.
A stellar year for Abhishek
2025 has been a phenomenal year for Abhishek as he is India's top scorer in the shortest format with 756 runs from 17 innings. He has firmly cemented his place in the Man in Blue's T20I set-up and will likely be in the squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup. This will be the first time that the 26-year-old will be featuring in the mega T20I tournament so he will be looking to make a strong impact for the team.
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